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Here’s How You Can Identify a Celebrity Profile on SnapChat

SnapChat is rolling out a new feature specially for its celebrity users as an added verification setting. So, if you want to verify whether the celebrity you think you are following is actually the real deal, you just have to look for a small emoji signifying their status. This emoji functions just like the blue tick mark on Facebook that identifies an authentic account from a fake one.

These emojis will be appearing under the header “Official Stories” and will also appear on the stories of users you are already following. This feature is expected to help “Snapchatters” discover interesting stories easily.

“If a Snapchatter has an Official Story, their name will appear under an Official Stories header when you search for them. Also, an emoji will appear next to their name so you know they’re the real deal!” – says SnapChat

As of now, the “Official Stories” feature is still being rolled out, so everyone may not have received it yet. However, it can be expected to become universally active soon.

November 14, 2015
Is Microsoft Late in Launching Cortana in India?

Cortana, the voice-based virtual assistant, was launched in India for Windows 10 users yesterday, with the Indian accent and voice support. It is part of the November update which the company announced on Thursday.

Thanks to leaks, some Indian users managed to get to lay their hands on this new addition by Microsoft weeks ago. But now it’s finally here officially and how. Microsoft says it took time in launching it in the country because it was working on an Indian voice and accent.

Cortana for India is complete with India-specific knowledge as well. Not only will it be able to understand the Indian accent but you can also talk to the voice assistant about golgappas and cricket, says Microsoft. Indian festivals and customs are two other things Cortana now recognises.

When asked about Diwali, Cortana says, “in the courtyard of AI imagination, I would light up a thousand diyas.”

The virtual assistant was first introduced in the country in September as part of Microsoft’s Insider Preview program with the promise of an update to be rolled out later. Microsoft claimed it was still working on improving voice support.

Users can now use Cortana to book tickets using Book My Show app. However, what is perhaps the most interesting feature that Microsoft cannot stop talking about is clicking selfies using simply voice commands. The virtual assistant with its added features is also capable of looking into your emails and reminding you of appointments and events, or reschedule meetings if need be.

But after its global launch months ago, is Microsoft a little too late in bringing it in India? Whether or not the delay is a disadvantage, Cortana definitely has an edge over its Apple counterpart, Siri, with its knowledge of Indian customs and accent. Let us know which voice assistant would you rather prefer in the comments below.

November 14, 2015
Apple To Discontinue Beats Music By the End Of November

Recent reports suggest that Apple will shut down Beats Music on the 30th of November 2015. Even though all the Beats subscriptions will end on that day, Apple is still encouraging subscribers to migrate their user profiles to Apple Music by saying that:

“…on Apple Music, you’ll get even better recommendations based on music you already listen to and love, 24/7 global radio with Beats 1, exciting material from your favorite artist, and more.”

This decision to shut Beats Music down has come less than six months after the company unveiled Apple Music. The appearance of Apple Music is said to have marked a departure from Apple’s stance on resisting the adoption of any music subscription model for its users. This service offers users recommendations based on purchases made over Apple’s iTunes Store or chosen on-demand from an online catalog. Apple Music also includes Beats 1, which is a 24X7 radio station. Apart from this the service also offers something called ‘Connect’ where artists can interact with their well-wisher or fans to share songs directly to their iPhones.

Since its launch, Apple Music has gathered 6.5 million subscribers, however this number still does not beat Spotify’s 25 million paid members and 50 million unpaid members. Furthermore, Apple has even released the service for Android users. Therefore, with the reach of Apple Music extending to more than just its customers, the discontinuation of Beats Music should not make much of a difference to the tech mogul.

November 14, 2015
Facebook Activates ‘Safety Check’ Feature Amid Paris Terror Attacks

Today, the world woke up to one of the worst terror attacks in recent times. The Paris massacre last night killed dozens of people and left many more severely injured. In times of such crisis one needs to stay connected to those closest to them, especially if they happen to be near the crisis zone, and Facebook lets you do that with its ‘Safety Check’ feature.

On Friday, Facebook activated its safety check feature during the Paris crisis to allow users to notify friends and family that they were safe through the site’s ‘Safety Check’ tool. Users began getting notifications telling them that their friends who were in Paris during the attacks were safe.

The ‘Safety Check’ feature was launched in 2014 and has been activated five times so far. This is the first time the feature has been used in a non-natural disaster setting. in the wake of the attacks, Facebook promptly activated the feature and also released a statement:

“We are shocked and saddened by the events unfolding in Paris. Communication is critical in these moments both for people there and for their friends and families anxious for news. People turn to Facebook to check on loved ones and get updates which is why we created Safety Check and why we have activated it today for people in Paris.”

Facebook hasn’t yet shared how many people were marked safe. According to its site, Facebook determines the location of a user by “looking at the city you have listed in your profile, your last location if you’ve opted in to the Nearby Friends product, and the city where you are using the internet.”

November 14, 2015
Samsung Galaxy S7 To Sport a 4K Display and 14 Cores

Samsung is creating a buzz about its next rumoured smartphone, the Galaxy S7 Premium Edition. According to rumours, this phone will only be offered in South Korea and could feature a 4K display with a dual-lens camera module made by Sony.

This phone is expected to run on the new Exynos 8890 chipset, which is expected to come with a 14 nm FinFET process chip, an integrated CP and modem chip and is the first custom core design chip that the company has created. This chip is expected to arrive with Samsung’s next flagship phone, the Galaxy S7 in all markets except for USA and China. In those two countries, the phone will be powered by the Snapdragon 820 SoC.

The original Exynos 8890 Soc is expected to come with the Mali-T880 and 12 cores, however new reports suggest that the Exynos 8890 for the Galaxy S7 Special Edition will come with the Mali-T880 and 14 cores.

As lovely as all this sounds, Samsung has not confirmed any of the above rumours. So, let’s just wait and see what Samsung has to offer us, until the next Samsung Unpacked event.

November 14, 2015
AT&T Reportedly Testing Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge

Popular and reliable phone leaker Evan Blass (@evleaks) tweeted last night that AT&T is already testing two new Samsung phones with model numbers SM-G930A and SM-G935A, which presumably refer to the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge.

AT&T already testing both Galaxy S7 variants (SM-G930A and -G935A), adding weight to rumors of an early- to mid-1Q16 release.

— Evan Blass (@evleaks) November 13, 2015

It is already known that Samsung plans an early 2016 launch of its flagship devices. Earlier this month, rumours were afloat that Samsung will launch the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge on February 21, just before the start of MWC 2016.

Not much is revealed in the specs department yet. Rumours have been suggesting that the flagship could sport a 12MP sensor provided by Sony, which will focus on better low-light images. Other details that have been going around suggest an Exynos 8 Octa 8890 processor, a 5.2-inch display on the Galaxy S7 and 5.8-inch dual-curved display on the S7 Edge. However, nothing is confirmed at the moment.

The fact that AT&T is already testing the models means the launch of the device will follow shortly after the unveiling in February. The devices will be widely available after the U.S launch and will be sold by all major carriers around the world.

November 14, 2015
$75 Smartphones by Cyanogen to Enter the Market Next

Cyanogen is working on developing $75 dollar handsets in collaboration with multiple OEMs. The highlight of these devices would be high performance, inexpensive software and minimal software bloat.

The operating system would be CyanogenOS 13 inspired by Android 6.0 Marshmallow. The ROM variant which will be equipped with CyanogenMod 13 will be out sooner than CyanogenOS 13 which is expected to arrive by early 2016.

Provision of SDKs for custom apps, differing based on OEM and region, will be made part of these new Cyanogen devices. Care will be taken to ensure there are no overlaps between apps so that no two apps perform the same function. For example, in Google Android devices there are often two browsers or calendars and so on.

Currently, Cyanogen has tied up with companies like Yu, ZUK and BQ, to name a few, to power phones. However, the $75 devices won’t be the only devices Cyanogen would be offering. There has also been a mention of a flagship as well. Time to sit back and hold our breath for this new addition to the smartphone industry.

November 14, 2015
Xiaomi Mi 5 Gets Benchmarked, to Feature Snapdragon 820 Processor

Xiaomi has been teasing the launch of the Mi 5 for a while now. Reports suggested that the upcoming flagship device will see a December 3 launch along with the Mi Pad 2. Yesterday, the Mi Pad 2 was listed on Geekbench benchmark, and now the Mi 5 has been spotted as well.

The Mi 5 is going by the codename ‘Gemini’ and the benchmark listing reveal some juicy details about what’s under the rumoured smartphone’s hood. One noticeable feature spotted was Qualcomm’s recently unveiled Snapdragon 820 processor. This puts the rumoured December launch of the Mi 5 on hold since Qualcomm confirmed that devices featuring the new Snapdragon 820 processor will launch only in 2016.

Other details tipped by the listing include Android 6.0 Marshmallow, 3GB of RAM, and a clock speed of up to 1.59GHz. The Mi 5 also scored a 2,140 on the single-core test and 4,762 on multi-core.

Since the launch of the Snapdragon 820 processor and Mi 5 are widely separated, it looks like the launch date for the flagship will now be pushed to 2016. We’ll keep you posted as we know more on Xiaomi Mi 5’s availability.

November 14, 2015
Apple Watch Successor in Works : Confirms Apple Supplier

The Taiwanese company, Quanta Computer, the company which assembles the wearable device for Apple, says that work has already begun on the successor of the Apple Watch. Barry Lam, the chairman of Quanta Computer has confirmed the news.

The comment about the reiteration of the Watch was recently made by Lam at an investor meeting. He affirmed that the device would perform better than its predecessor. Rumours about a launch at the end of Q2 next year are rife.

Rumours about a 2016 launch of the next-gen variant of the Apple Watch have been around for a while now. The gadget is expected to have enhanced features with the same external design and body. The square screen of the Watch is highly likely to stay. This is all from Apple on the Watch front for now. We’ll keep you updated as soon as we have more.

November 14, 2015
‘Quit Facebook, Stay Happy,’ Says Happiness Research Institute

Facebook, like smoking or drinking, can be regarded as an addiction for the digital age. Well, maybe not as harmful to the body as the latter, but according to a study conducted by the Happiness Research Institute (yes, it’s a real place), Facebook can be quite harmful, mentally.

A study was conducted by the Happiness Research Institute on 1,095 Facebook users in Denmark to see how the social media might be affecting their mood. The researchers first discovered that over 94% of the participants visited Facebook on a daily basis.

The subjects were them split into two groups – one group continued their daily use of Facebook while the other were made to stay off the site completely. One week later, the Happiness Research Institute found that 88% of the quitters said that they felt “happy,” while 81% of Facebook users felt the same. According to the results, Facebook users reported greater rates of anger, worry, sadness, depression and loneliness; while the quitters reported higher rates of happiness and enthusiasm, better social lives, fewer problems with unproved concentration.

Let it be known that this study is far from being scientifically accurate as the subjects basically wrote down what they felt, which cannot be all taken at face value. But the study itself revels a growing concern over our dependance on scrolling through timelines and news feed every chance we get, worrying about our status updates and the number of likes, among other things.

Let’s be honest, we’ve all felt like giving up Facebook at some point in our lives. We’ve also deactivated our accounts only to return to it the next day. The potential effects of Facebook and other social media addiction cannot be properly quantifiable, which is what makes this form of addiction silently scarier than others. Let us know what you think about the effects of social media on you in the comments below.

November 14, 2015
Facebook’s New Message System Takes On SnapChat’s Self-Destruct Messages

Facebook is currently testing a new feature on their messaging app in France to introduce a self-destruct option within the Messenger app. This is not too difficult to operate, since one just has to click on a hourglass button at the top of the screen to activate it. The activation of this button will allow messages to be destroyed after one hour. In order to deactivate the feature, you’ll just have to click on the button again. In a public statement, Facebook said:

“We’re excited to announce the latest in an engaging line of optional product features geared towards making Messenger the best way to communicate with the people that matter most.

This is not the first time that Facebook has tried to introduce the idea of ephemeral messaging. It had previously introduced “Poke” in 2012 that was almost a copy of SnapChat, which had to be discontinued because it did not perform well. Eventually, they came out with another app called “Slingshot”, which was once again a take on SnapChat along with a couple of personalized features such as the fact that it required a photo in return before a message could be viewed.

Anyway, what’s done is done, let’s just hope this feature doesn’t tank too. And for all those wishing to erase a message already sent, or wishing you never sent them out and hoping it would get lost in the universe and never come up again – this could be your dream come true.

November 13, 2015
Gmail’s New Features Help Save Time and Protect Privacy

Gmail has recently announced two new features that will be available on the emailing website. The first one is a minor change brought about within the search engine tab. Previously, when you wanted to look for a mail, you would have to navigate through all three different files – Inbox, Spam and Trash, separately. However, the new change will allow Gmail to look for your email directly from the main search tab on the inbox screen page. This search will automatically look for files throughout your Gmail profile, including the Trash and Spam. This feature will not be available on the phone apps but only on the web.

Secondly, Gmail is increasing its security by warning you about emails that arrive over un-encrypted connections. Un-encrypted emails increase the risk of your personal information getting leaked and also makes you prone to getting attacked by viruses and other harmful activities. While Gmail to Gmail messages are mostly encrypted, there are still many email servers who do not use encryption. Therefore in the weeks to come, you might receive something like this:

Hopefully, all of this protects us from everything that we stand to lose – time and privacy. Who says only celebrities get all the attention?

November 13, 2015
Motorola Rolling out Android Marshmallow for Moto X Style in India

Update:
Marshmallow 6.0 Update for Motorola rolling out now. Watch this space for our hands-on video.

Here’s another one of #MotoXStyle’s list of amazing features. Get Android 6.0 Marshmallow & improve your experience! pic.twitter.com/TuxViqXuoQ

— Motorola India (@motorolaindia) November 20, 2015

Motorola has just announced that they will begin rolling out the new Android Marshmallow 6.0 on the Moto X Style and Moto X 2nd Gen. What is even better is, that for the first time it is getting rolled out in India before anywhere else! This initial integration will be available only to Brazil and India for the Moto X Style and Brazil will be exclusively availing the Moto X 2nd Gen rollout. However, this is just the current market strategy, more markets will be added in the near future.

Moto X Style gets Android 6.0 updates ! #android #motox #igyaan #igyaanlife #marshmallow

A photo posted by iGyaan Network (@igyaan) on Nov 19, 2015 at 10:39pm PST

Therefore, let us give you a brief recap on some features you can expect with the Android 6.0. Firstly, you will have an ‘app standby’ feature that will allow you save battery energy by putting your seldom used apps into a reduced activity state. You will also have a ‘Doze’ feature, to help you further save your phone’s battery life by recognizing when your device is idle and automatically going into a ‘deep sleep’ state. This basically means, that when you are not using your phone, the new software will automatically shut down all unnecessary background functions to save power.

Apart from battery saving skills, this Marshmallow will also allow you to have greater control over what you share with a new permissions model that comes with the newly designed ‘app permissions’. This also allows you to install a feature when required, instead of installing the entire thing all at once. Another feature called ‘app links’ allows you to decide what action you want to perform for each of your apps when you click on a web link.

Android Marshmallow will also affect your expandable storage options by allowing your SD card to extend to its maximum internal storage rather than just using it for media files. There will also be a ‘do not disturb’ button, whose functions are self-explanatory, and volume controls are expected to be more efficient too.

Two final features are the ‘Now on Tap’ and ‘Direct Share’. The first one will provide Google Now with context to show your results according to the app you are using and ‘direct share’ will enable sharing anything, from a contact or a conversation, within an app directly.

That was our little recap, for more details about the Android Marshmallow click here. Until then, if you own the phones mentioned above, sit tight and await your update.

November 13, 2015
Xiaomi Mi Pad 2 Gets Benchmarked, Will Have Intel Inside

It looks like the wait for Xiaomi’s Mi Pad 2 will soon be over. Rumours about the tablet began as far back as December last year. In September, the Mi Pad 2 was certified in China and today the tablet has passed the Geekbench benchmark test. According to the test, it looks like the Mi Pad 2 will have Intel inside. The test revealed that the tablet will sport an Intel X5-Z8500 SoC under the hood, with a quad-core 2.24GHz CPU, 2GB RAM and will have Android 5.1 pre-installed.

That’s not all the test revealed. The Mi Pad 2 with Intel chipset scored a 985 on the single-core test and a 3268 on multi-core. The original Xiaomi Mi Pad scored a 1113 (single-core) and 3481 (multi-core) back in 2014.

Not much is know about the upcoming tablet. Rumours suggest that the Mi Pad 2 will sport the same 7.9-inch glass found in the original Mi Pad. It is likely that Xiaomi will unveil the Mi Pad 2 along with the Mi 5 on the 3rd of December.

Source: [tw-button size=”medium” background=”#07ABE2″ color=”” target=”_blank” link=”http://browser.primatelabs.com/geekbench3/4084530″]Geekbench[/tw-button]

November 13, 2015
YouTube Launches its Own Music Streaming App, Challenges Apple Music and Spotify

Watch out Apple Music and Spotify, YouTube Music is here. The world’s largest and most popular free music service has started rolling out a dedicated music app, which includes a paid subscription option.

YouTube has been dominating online video streaming for years and has become a household name today. Now the video giant wants to do what it does best – bring music to the masses. YouTube has stuck to free music videos for years to the dismay of some in the music business. The contention was that YouTube doesn’t generate nearly enough revenue when compared to the number of hits it gets on a daily basis.

The YouTube Phenomenon

Videos are becoming the next big thing for social networking sites. Facebook’s big video push is now providing a real competition to YouTube, and Facebook has also shown interest in music, too with the newly launched Music Stories. But the impact on YouTube has been massive and the video giant knows just how big it is. in their official blog, YouTube said that, “today, any artist can upload a video to YouTube and get discovered by over 1 billion people around the globe. That global exposure has allowed YouTube and Google to pay out over $3 billion to the record industry to date. But it’s also provided an incredible source of promotion for artists, helping fuel ticket sales, move merchandise, and boost album and song downloads. Just this month, Adele’s “Hello” became the fastest rising video of the year on YouTube, while also breaking the record for first week download sales.”

The fact that YouTube is coming out with a standalone app when Google Play Music already exists is a bit confusing. However, those who are subscribers to YouTube Red can avail benefits on both the apps.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwj1qFPnhow

How Does YouTube Music Work?

The app works like a standard music service. You search for artists or songs and then YouTube suggests more songs based on your search. It’s unlike Apple Music and Spotify in that while the latter services offer curated songs and playlists, YouTube Music doesn’t. The app lets computers rather than humans pick out songs for you, and will do so once you already have a song in mind.

No matter where you start in the app, the music will never stop. Every song you play or artist you choose will take you on an endless journey through YouTube’s music catalog. A simple tap and you’re on your way, enjoying your favorite music and discovering new artists effortlessly. The home tab will recommend tracks just for you and create personalized stations based on your tastes.

You cannot create playlists, however. Instead YouTube Music creates a daily playlist for you in ‘My mix’, which combines tracks you’ve listened to, tracks you’ve liked and some new suggestions based on both. The app is also unlike Apple Music and Spotify in that it is the first music streaming app that includes videos. You can share and listen to music for free, with ads, or go for an ad free version by subscribing to YouTube Red for a monthly fee of $10.

The YouTube Music app is available only in the U.S as of now and YouTube plans to roll out the service in other countries soon. Let us know what you think of YouTube’s newest app in the comments below.

Source: [tw-button size=”medium” background=”#07ABE2″ color=”” target=”_blank” link=”http://youtube-global.blogspot.in/2015/11/a-youtube-built-just-for-music.html”]YouTube[/tw-button]

November 13, 2015